RACIAL ISSUES AND COLLECTIONS FOR BLACK CHILDREN IN

MUNICIPAL LIBRARIES IN THE CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO

The purpose of this research is to highlight the effects that the library can have on
encouraging reading, with an emphasis on the ethnic-racial issue. The need to address this
topic is, firstly, to emphasize the importance of discussing these issues in libraries, given that
the city of Rio de Janeiro is the second city with the largest population of black men and
women in Brazil. The research also analyzes the library's social responsibility, which
guarantee a commitment to racial justice and equality, where reading gains a new meaning,
highlighting the power of representative reading. It is important to understand how literature
can affect the inclusion of black children in society and also on their self-esteem, by
unfolding the subject it will be possible to analyze the difficulties faced by libraries in having
an inclusive collection. The theoretical foundation addresses ethnic-racial issues, collection
formation and development, reader formation and librarian formation. In the methodological
foundation, in addition to bibliographical research, an analysis was carried out of the
curriculum of library science courses at universities in the state of Rio de Janeiro and a
quantitative survey of the collection dedicated to ethnic-racial issues for children and young
people in the city's municipal libraries, having in mind that the role of these institutions is to
be inclusive for all. When researching library science curriculum, it was possible to see the
subject in some subjects, but not all institutions offer them. After analyzing the collections, it
was clear that there is a need for actions in libraries aimed at ethnic-racial discussions for
children and young people. With regard to the training of library professionals, few
universities offer subjects with this theme in their curriculum, i.e. there is a lack of empirical
discussions to prepare these professionals for these demands.This research emphasizes
that information spaces can contribute to reducing the negative problems faced by black
people.

Keywords: Ethnic and Racial Collection, Black Literature, Black Children, Public Library,
Collection Development.

[Submission for online presentation]